Mark Bittman made news several years ago when he announced plans to go vegan before dusk. Coming from a New York Times food writer, cookbook author, and a man clearly in love with food, this was a radical move. Bittman’s recent bestseller, Food Matters, argued that eating meat three meals a day is simply unsustainable, both for our health and the environment. His new The Food Matters Cookbook (Simon & Schuster, $35) is a fat collection of 500 straightforward recipes, including his “no work mostly whole wheat pizza dough,” “more vegetable less-egg frittata,” and “beans Bolognese.” Bittman doesn’t go so far into the why of it here; and by now, especially in Seattle, his view is near Pollanesque gospel: eat local, eat low on the food chain, and eat better, less-processed food. And his recipes are prescriptive. Prosciutto is a condiment, not the main event, and many of dishes are meatless. Bittman might be preaching to the choir, but this cookbook ensures that the choir will also remain well-fed. ADRIANA GRANT

Fri., Oct. 29, 7 p.m., 2010